Guy Sebastian’s personal appearance at a suburban Darwin shopping centre ended abruptly following an awkward moment with a young girl.

Just a handful of people had lined up to see the former chart topper and Australian Idol winner for a signing session to mark the launch of his new album.

Store bosses insisted around 40 people queued up to meet and greet the star at the JB Hi-Fi shop in Darwin’s Casuarina Square on Friday.

But Daily Mail staff at the scene put the real figure closer to just eight – and the event suddenly ended after he was introduced to the young girl.

The child had painted a picture of the 43-year-old singer and wanted him to keep it, but Sebastian tried to graciously refuse to accept the gift.

Sebastian said it would be better if she kept it, and added that it looked ‘amazing’.

Instead, he offered to sign the picture, telling the child her painting made him look like a ‘police officer’ and that she had ‘nailed it’.

Sebastian and his entourage left the store shortly after, with the star appearing tired and forlorn as he attempted to smile for the few diehard fans present.

Guy Sebastian (right) is escorted out of a JB Hi-Fi after launching his new album at a rundown Darwin shopping centre

Sebastian told a girl that her painting made him look like a ‘police officer’

Sebastian posed beside copies of his new album

The singer, who won the first series of Idol in 2003, made the trip to the Top End capital for the official launch of his tenth studio album 100 Times Around The Sun.

But Sebastian’s entourage, including his management team leader Lauren Stamper, photographers, staffers and security, appeared to outnumber his actual fans.

Several other customers in the store carried on shopping, oblivious to Sebastian’s presence, as he tried to put a brave face on the disappointing turnout to see him.

Another customer who witnessed the underwhelming event was overheard asking ‘why was Sebastian launching his album here?’

The rundown shopping centre is located on the outskirts of Darwin and features brands like Connor, Lowes and Tarocash rather than Prada, Armani or Chanel

One customer told Daily Mail he was browsing the DVD section when his friend pointed out Guy Sebastian was in the store.

‘I didn’t realise he was even in the store, I just saw seven or eight people huddled around and I figured they were just lining up for the check-out,’ the witness said.

‘We were laughing, we thought it was funny to see him look dishevelled at this store.’

Sebastian posted images of him attending the Logies but has not shared any photos from his Darwin event

Sebastian’s security rushed the singer out of the store

The local resident said he also had a heavy-handed encounter with Sebastian’s security team during the star’s brief appearance

‘I was just standing there after I had been hunting for the Schwarzenegger Running Man and a security guard told me to “move on” because they “were about to come through this way”,’ he said.

‘I said “I’ll go back to looking at DVDs if that is okay with you”.’

A JB Hi-Fi employee later said ‘quite a few people’ turned up to the store to meet Sebastian, and insisted there were ‘about 30 or 40,’ they said.

Another store member admitted they hadn’t been excited by the star’s visit because they weren’t even aware he was coming until they started their shift.

Not even local media turned up to the discreetly-promoted album launch.

The sobering wake-up call about his popularity in Darwin is reflected in Sebastian not posting any photos of the event on his social media accounts.

Sebastian performed at Darwin Festival on Friday night but was in South Australia for a similar event the next day, which he proudly pictured on Instagram afterwards.

Sebastian performed at the 2025 Logies at The Star Sydney on Sunday, August 3

Sebastian posted photos of his recent performance at the Logies this month but also ignored his weekend performance during a live appearance at Westfield Parramatta.

Fans flooded social media to point out the sad reality behind Sebastian’s performance at the Sydney shopping centre on Sunday.

Sebastian had taken to the stage for the free event to promote his album but was met with another very disappointing crowd.

In a clip posted to TikTok by Jennifer Liu, Guy was filmed singing his heart out to his 2009 hit tune Like It Like That.

As the Aussie star belted out the chorus, shoppers could be seen walking through the mall appearing unfazed and unaware of his concert below.

‘Why is Guy Sebastian casually playing in Parramatta haha,’ read the text on the video, which has amassed over 218,000 views.

The clip was captioned below: ‘Was not what I expected when I came to Parra today LOL.’

Fans also expressed their shock that the superstar was now playing to small crowds in shopping centres.

Sebastian performed at Westfield Parramatta on Sunday

‘I thought he was really famous, why’s there barely any people?’ one asked.

Another pointed out: ‘Bro this guy fell off the face of the earth just to return like this.’

‘Literally was such a random quest,’ one fan said.

Some people surmised that times were tough for the star, hence his fall from grace.

‘Cost of living is hitting hard,’ one person wrote, while another penned: ‘Recession indicator.’

‘Cos he isn’t on The Voice anymore,’ another guessed.

Sebastian sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry last year when he announced his sudden departure as coach on The Voice Australia.

The songwriter, whose music has had more than 1.3billion streams since his debut in 2003, performed his new song Get It Done from his recently-released album.

Sebastian is currently promoting his new album 100 Times Around the Sun

However, fans swarmed X to roast his passionate performance and new tune.

‘Is this from Guy Sebastian’s new album, because it sounds like almost every other Guy Sebastian song I know,’ one posted.

Another added: ‘It’s time for the, “You remember the OG Australian Idol?” part of the night.’